Sacramento Kings beat Memphis Grizzlies to end skid, but Sabonis goes down with injury
The Kings beat the Memphis Grizzlies to snap a four-game losing streak Monday, but they lost All-NBA center Domantas Sabonis to a potentially serious injury.
Malik Monk scored 28 points to lead the Kings to a 132-122 victory over the Grizzlies before a crowd of 16,205 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
Monk said it was good to get a win after losing five of the last six games.
“It was huge for us, especially at home with the home crowd,” Monk said. “They were loud tonight and we did that for them.”
Zach LaVine scored 23 points for the Kings (34-33) in the first game of a season-long seven-game homestand. DeMar DeRozan had 22 points, six rebounds and nine assists.
Desmond Bane scored a season-high 44 points for the Grizzlies (43-26). Bane went 15 of 26 from the field and 7 of 7 from 3-point range.
Brandon Clarke came off the bench to score 15 points for Memphis. Former Folsom High School star Jaylen Wells, a top Rookie of the Year candidate, had 14 points.
The Kings shot 52.3% from the field and 48.8% from 3-point range. The Grizzlies shot 48.4% overall and 43.3% from long distance.
Sabonis appeared to be in considerable pain when he went down after rolling his right ankle at the start of the third quarter. He immediately left the game and did not return. There was no word on the extent of the injury after the game.
The Kings will be back in action Wednesday when they play host to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Injury updates
Grizzlies star Ja Morant missed his second game due to left hamstring soreness. Santi Aldama (right calf strain) and Scott Pippen Jr. (left wrist soreness) were also ruled out for Memphis.
Kings forward Trey Lyles was cleared to play after being listed as questionable with lower back soreness.
Sabonis left the game in the opening minutes to get stitches above his left eye. He returned in the second quarter only to suffer the ankle injury in the third quarter.
LaVine returned to the game after leaving briefly due to a left ankle injury.
Halftime report
The Kings led 37-26 after closing the first quarter with a 10-0 run. They got a huge spark from their bench with Jake LaRavia, Devin Carter and Keon Ellis making a series of defensive plays leading to easy transition baskets.
The Kings led 65-54 at the halftime break after shooting 51.1% while holding the Grizzlies to 45.7%. They were active and aggressive on defense with nine steals and four blocked shots.
“That second unit really kick-started it late in the first, early second (quarter),” LaVine said. “They went in there and really had the building rocking, really jumpstarted us and that just carried over to the rest of the game.”
Second half
The Grizzlies cut the deficit to four on a 3-pointer by Bane early in the second half, but the Kings quickly reestablished a double-digit lead.
Sacramento led 98-86 at the end of the third quarter. The Kings went up by as many as 21 in the fourth despite the absence of Sabonis.
Up next
The Kings will face the top team in the Eastern Conference when they entertain the Cavaliers on Wednesday.
The Cavaliers (56-11) will be on the second night of a back-to-back after visiting the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday. Cleveland’s 16-game winning streak ended with a 108-103 loss to the Orlando Magic on Sunday.
This story was originally published March 17, 2025 at 9:54 PM.
